WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Colorado-based Focus on the Family ministry will retain its tax-exempt status despite the fact that the group's founder endorsed President Bush and other Republican candidates in the 2004 elections.
James Dobson, who founded the ministry in 1977, announced on his radio show Sept. 10 that the Internal Revenue Service sent Focus on the Family officials a letter clearing them of wrongdoing. Because Dobson separated his endorsements from any official action of the agency, the letter said, Focus on the Family did not violate federal tax laws that prevent religious groups and other tax-exempt charities from engaging in partisan politics.
The IRS investigation found “that Dr. Dobson's reported remarks did not occur in publications of Focus on the Family, did not occur at functions of Focus on the Family, and did not involve Dr. Dobson suggesting that he was speaking as a representative of Focus on the Family.”
The investigation was spurred by formal complaints from two groups: the Colorado-based Citizens Project and the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The Citizens Project argued that an article in a Focus on the Family magazine in 2004 implied endorsement of Bush. CREW, meanwhile, complained about Dobson's endorsements.
The popular radio broadcaster and conservative commentator had become heavily involved in the 2004 election, publicly endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time.
The CREW complaint argued that Dobson and Focus on the Family are indistinguishable from each other. An endorsement from Dobson would be perceived by most of the group's supporters as an endorsement from Focus on the Family, the complaint contended.
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